Crest of the Wave
by Arika Ito
Summary: Hikaru no Go AU Genderbent!Hikaru. At age fifteen, Shindo Hikaru enters a world that she has yet to truly understand, while at the same time that world tries to understand her. Finding the Hand of God is going to be harder than she thought. This is based off of Aishuu's Brightly Burning.
1. Introductions

For the insei test, Shinoda-sensei rarely saw a teenager sign up the test alone. For most examinees, it was an adult who was the driving force in getting their child into go. Shinoda-sensei was one of the many teachers of the Tokyo Go Institute and he often tested many individuals.

Shindo Hikaru was one such teenager; black hair that had a shade of brown with streaks of blond and wearing attire more fitting at a skate park than at a Go salon. She had loitered, glancing nervously around before Shinoda-sensei noticed and invited her inside. Shinoda-sensei wondered whom the driving force behind the wayward teen into Go was.

She fidgeted underneath his gaze, avoiding his gaze. Hanging around her thin wrist was a simple fan that appeared to be not cheap, nor expensive. He wondered she was a fan of Ichiryu-sensei who also carried one around with him.

Shinoda-sensei eyed the young girl and got up from his desk. He led her into his office, where a goban and two go-ke's were waiting. He closed the door because, as always, the examination game was private.

"Handicaps, sensei?" Shindo asked politely, taking the seat closest to the door. She smoothed out her skirt awkwardly, as if she hadn't worn too many of them and sat down. She handed him three kifu, all from the Internet from her backpack. She had been black for all of the games, Shindo informed him, under the pseudonym _Starmaker_.

Shinoda-sensei was amazed at the high level play Shindo exhibited. She showed an adept understanding of traps and an ability to read deeply into a game. She utilized a talented understanding of the game to cut and manipulate her opponents into a crushing defeat. _This was a girl who mercilessly slaughtered and did everything to win_, Shinoda-sensei inferred. He wondered how she would fit into the insei program.

"Three stones," Shinoda-sensei answered, shaking out of his awestruck reverie, placing the three kifu beside him on the desk.

"... we don't play evenly," Shindo remarked blankly, as if she realized what she was finally getting into.

"No, because I am a pro, it wouldn't be very fair if we played evenly," Shinoda-sensei teased lightly, trying to get more of a reaction from the girl. Instead of being embarrassed, she looked more contemplative. She smiled and something in her changed. She placed the three stones on three of the four hoshi and bowed her head. She raised her gaze and met the steady eyes of her examiner. "Please give me your guidance."

Shinoda-sensei began with his usual opening, the one that he always started with in his matches against prospective insei. Now was the most important part of the examination; the rest was merely formalities, any qualms that had been made against Shindo did not matter. How Shindo played would determine her fate as an insei.

Shindo countered with a firm hand and the game began ... and ended in chuban, resulting in a terrifying slaughter, not by Shinoda-sensei's, but at Shindo's.

Shinoda-sensei remembered Shindo's thin and light family background in her application for the class. Her guardian, her grandfather, supported his granddaughter and was an amateur go player. There had been no way that such a person so talented and go unnoticed for so long. Her grandfather had been the only Go-related influence in her life. There was no one else. No official pros to serve as teachers or relatives that would teach her.

During the game, when she began tapping her fan against the go-ke, after a particularly crushing move that cut through his last defenses like butter after a trap that he had not seen, he realized that, while she was wholly and totally focused on the game, she was not particularly interested in the game. She wasn't making any wonderful moves, in her mind, for the game. He surrendered, right there and then. He had no chance for victory.

She had quickly decimated his defense when he tried going for randomly placed stones that turned into key points for her offense. She deflected every single attack he had attempted with ease. By the end of the game, Shindo had an undeniable victory. It was like playing a fellow pro.

"Do you have a teacher?" Shinoda-sensei asked, shaking with a mixture of fear and excitement. If Shindo was that good, her teacher must had been amazing.

"No," Shindo shook her head, her green eyes hooded by her bangs. "Not anymore, really." She gripped her fan even tigher, if that was possible.

"I see," Shinoda-sensei nodded, deflating a little bit. His hopes were shot. "Who did teach you?" Shindoa sensei prodded.

"A friend on the net," Shindo clarified, not meeting his eyes yet. Shinoda-sensei had the feeling that this was a very sensitive topic and that there was much more than she was telling. But he had to know more, who her teacher had been. After Touya-Meijin retired, there hadn't been a dominant force in the Go World for two months. It had been open season with Touya-Meijin's five titles.

"So where is your teacher?" Shinoda-sensei asked tentatively. He didn't want to spook the girl into shutting down.

"Gone." Shindo replied hauntingly, "He's been gone."

"... I see." Shinoda-sensei had a grasp on who Shindo was now. She was a lost girl who didn't know what to do next but play Go. Would he allow her acceptance into the insei program where she would most likely destroy everyone who came into her path?

He stared into her eyes once more and his stomach lurched, he lowered his gaze. What would happen to her if he did not allow her acceptance? Would she quit Go forever? Shinoda-sensei could bare the thought; that a talented player like her disappear forever, only on the internet? Just like SAI?

"Do I pass?" Shindo asked quietly, she still kept her eyes on the goban. It was a split second decision that Shinoda-sensei hoped he would not regret.

"Yes."

* * *

**Comments:**

I really should stop with the stories, shouldn't I? I'm not even half way done with the first one and I've already started two more. But this one wouldn't stop bothering me.**  
**

I started writing this two summers ago but then my flashdrive died but I had all ten chapters written out.

By the way, this is dedicated to Aishuu, whose work, _Brightly Burning_, should be turned into an actual novel when he or she finishes it. _  
_


	2. The Ripples that Form

Now as a sixteen-year old insei and a veteran of Tokyo's Go Institute insei program, Waya Yoshitaka felt that he had a pretty good chance of passing the Pro exam this year. He fell short of passing it last year, just barely, losing to his good friend, Isumi who passed, just a little before his 18th birthday.

It was good that Isumi had passed because after his 17th birthday, when he didn't pass the Pro Exam, he had gone to China and returned a new player. Isumi deserved to pass as an insei, not because he was the top ranked one but because he truly loved Go.

Waya drummed his fingers on the lowest table waiting for Shinoda-sensei to finish introducing the new insei to the class. The oldest of the new insei, was a girl named Shindo Hikaru, who looked to be a year younger than Waya. Her dirty blond hair stood out from the general features of the other younger insei, that was to say, none of them had dyed hair or wore punkish clothing like Shindo did.

"Today, we'll be playing practice matches," Shinoda-sensei announced after the class had settled down and the new insei took their seats. As usual, they were all placed in Class B. None of them would pass the Go exam likely this year; most insei took years to pass and Waya had taken the exam three times but he nearly passed last year.

He glanced at Shindo, silent and out of place with the younger insei. Most started young and Waya couldn't see Shindo passing the Pro exam as an insei. She didn't look like an Ochi and Waya himself became an insei when he was nine.

* * *

None of the new insei made splashes. Most had struggled. Except for Shindo, who made a wave, which had been surprising to Waya, No one really noticed her during the first round of games. Shinoda-sensei fluttered around her after she finished her game for a while but he was always like that. Waya noted that she sent her opponent away in tears.

Then she won her next game in a resignation. And her third. And her fourth, and she made that opponent quit the insei program. Now every one was talking about the quiet girl who was slowly learning restraint, her sixth opponent she hadn't made cry, and the etiquette of the game. In the beginning, she seemed to have no understanding of the proper manners. She was also apparently, modernizing it and her game at a fast pace. Every move looked more and more advanced as she played. Or so Waya heard. Information slowly reached Waya, the highest ranked in insei class, that Shindo made interesting hands when playing. Like she was experimenting.

Shindo quickly climbed the ranks and was on the cusp of making Class A. All of this was in one month. Not even Ochi had moved so quickly. She didn't seem to have any friends inside or outside of Go. She was pleasantly friendly to anyone who spoke to her but didn't make any lasting friendships. She always brought a bento and she never ate with anyone.

The weirdest thing about Shindo was that Shinoda-sensei went to her for an opinion about a pro game. Never anyone else. Shinoda-sensei never went to Waya or anybody else for as long he could remember. He never heard what Shindo said about the games but Shinoda-sensei always went back for another opinion.

Waya scrunched up his face; he had to get his focus back onto his match. He was playing Nase, another talented insei that was in the top 5 of Class A. But today, for some reason, Nase was having trouble focusing so he was riding the flow to an easy win.

Pachi

There! Waya moved in for the kill as Nase realized her error. There was no recovery from a mistake like that, especially with the trap that Waya had set up.

Pachi

Nase sighed and shook her head in shame while Waya grinned. "I have lost."

"Thank you for the game," Waya responded according to etiquette and they cleaned up the goban. After Nase finished, she headed towards the bathroom while Waya headed towards the score sheet to mark his win with a resignation.

Waya filled in the circle and sneaked a glance at Shindo's record sheet 7-0, all resignations. Most insei had struggled in their first couple months, it seemed like Shindo soared.

* * *

Another two months had passed and Shindo was in Class A. She had already played Nase and Fukui and when during the lunch break, all they were willing to say was not underestimate her. Waya didn't know what was more terrifying: that no one knew of Shindo's existence before she became an insei or that neither Fukui nor Nase thought she had any weaknesses. Her record was currently 13-0 and today, she was going to play Honda, the person who was Waya's rival for the Pro Exam.

Waya walked into the game room, he hadn't been able to find Nase, Fukui or Honda, so he decided to come early and concentrate for his match. His opponent would be the other upcoming insei, who had been overshadowed by Shindo's prowess, so much so that Waya didn't even remember his name.

Surprisingly, Shindo was already there, her face a mask of concentration and her signature fan dangling off her wrist. He checked his watch, they still had at least ten minutes to go before class officially started and he decided to take a chance.

Generally, Shindo lacked anything that resembled an internal clock, nearly late for every single class but today she was early. He approached Shindo with a grin on his face and plopped down, across her on the goban, sitting where Honda would spend the next few hours. "Hey," Waya greeted. "Waya Yoshitaka, Shindo Hikaru right?"

She met his gaze and her lips quirked into a small smile, as if she was musing something. "That's me, Go extraordinaire."

"Ah, so you do hear what people are saying about you," Waya arched his brow, teasingly. "You're playing Honda, today, right?" Waya asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Kind of hard not to notice that everyone stops talking when I enter a room around here," Shindo shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I am. He's second ranked in the class, isn't he?" Her expression morphed into something that Waya didn't recognize. "I was looking forward to the match the entire week; it should be a good one."

At least she wasn't annoying like Ochi, who snubbed everyone who he considered beneath him, which was virtually everyone. Or treated everyone as a stepping-stone until he reached Touya Akira. "Look, for lunch, a couple of insei and I are planning to go McDonalds, you wanna come with? Wanna dispel some of that mystery around you?"

She turned contemplative, "Yeah, why not? It'd be nice to talk to someone." Shindo nodded, "I'd love to, thanks for inviting me, Waya-san."

"It's Waya," Waya answered, he never liked it when people used honorifics with his last name, he felt like they were talking to his dad. He clapped his hands on his thighs, "See you then." He would spend his entire lunch trying to figure out just who Shindo Hikaru was.

* * *

Guiltily, Waya kept sneaking glances back and forth at Shindo's game against Honda. He knew that he should have been focusing on his own match but the boy was already scared shitless of him. Good player but terrible planning skills, he was only ranked as high as he was by the virtue of his ability to get out of traps, if only just barely. Waya was steamrolling him.

He glanced back at the game and notice that Honda was sweating heavily, perspiring all over his face while Shindo was rhythmically tapping her fan against her go-ke. That was not a good sign; apparently one of the things that indicated that a match was over was when Shindo would tap her fan against her go-ke.

It was like a death toll, some insei were known to instantly surrender when they heard the noise, no matter the situation.

He returned his focus back to his game. His opponent's shape was littered with mistakes so Waya attacked and planned a trap that would annihilate his opponent in ten to fifteen moves.

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

"I have nothing," Honda's heartbroken tone echoed throughout the room as Waya realized it had only taken Shindo an hour and a half to destroy one of the top insei. Who was she? Even though she took down Nase and Fukui, it could be chalked up to the fact they might have underestimated her.

"Thank you for the game," Shindo responded. He could hear the clattering of the stones as they cleared off the goban. He saw her walk by his goban with an expression that Waya thought was a hint of disappointment. He figured he was imagining things.

Waya finished his game, slammed his stones back into his go-ke and basically ran out of the room, determined to find Honda, after he registered his win as a resignation.

He found Honda, head in his hands, sitting in a chair at one of the lunch tables. "Hey, man." Waya swallowed. "What happened?"

"I have no idea," Honda struggled. "I thought my joseki was just fine, she just used one than what we usually see, but it wasn't impossible. Waya, it feels like I just got the carpet pulled out from underneath me. I though I was a good player but Shindo, she's on a new level entirely."

Waya wasn't sure what this meant. It had terrible implications for him, because while he was better than Honda, he never truly blew him out of the water like Shindo apparently did. He had three weeks before he was to play her and he wasn't sure how to prepare. "I, uh, invited her to lunch with us." He blurted out, he didn't want to alienate or blindside Honda by making him eat lunch with someone that he didn't want to.

"That's okay," Honda answered with a slight smile and stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets. "I want to see what she says about my game." The bell rang, signaling time for lunch.

"Where'd Shindo go?" Waya asked after Nase and Fukui joined them.

"I think she went outside," Honda informed and they all went out, where they found Shindo perusing the pages with _Weekly Go!_ with some interest.

"Hi," Shindo smiled pleasantly, closing the magazine, shoving it away into her bag. "I was just reading an article about the Meijin, he's pretty good right? Four titles." She sighed. They start walking towards the nearest McDonalds.

"Five," Nase corrected. "You must be reading an old issue. The Meijin had five titles when he retired."

"Five," Shindo pondered. "Which one didn't he have?"

"Ouza was his newest one," Fukui answered. "But now that he is retired, Ogata-sensei is the newest Judan and the matches for his other four titles should start really soon."

"Hm, who's the Honinbo?" Shindo asked lightly, eyes trained on the wall.

"Kuwabara-sensei," Waya answered. "He's been the Honinbo for a pretty long time. Apparently, he's a bit strange."

"So, how does one become the Honinbo?" Shindo questioned, softly. She had the same look in her eye that Waya didn't recognize. It was determined but there was something else. It was pretty much personified in her voice and it scared the crap out of Waya.

"What?" Waya asked, bewildered. "You aren't even a pro yet, and you can't just become the Honinbou, Shindo. It's a really long process, and you should just focus on becoming a pro."

"Isn't it like the Hand of God? It's there, but people think its untouchable." Shindo answered. "Some people say that the Hand of God can't be reached, some people say that titles are impossible to get." Shindo leaped onto the ledge and spread her arms out to balance herself, looking like a bird flying through air, unaffected by things like gravity. "I plan to disprove that. Both of them."

Waya stared at her, confused out of his mind. Where did she get the Hand of Go out of the Honinbo title? "Not everyone's a title holder, Shindo. Do you even know how hard it is to get a title?"

"Really?" Shindo had the look on her face that Waya didn't like. "Then what do pros' do?"

Waya continued staring at her, how or why did she become an insei if she didn't even know what pros' did.

"Pros' often have teaching games," Honda explained before Waya did something anything drastic. "They have business clients and teach them how to get better at Go."

"What." Shindo scrunched up her face. "That means I have to play sucky people who don't even know what they're doing and try to teach them. Forget that, I guess I have to become a pro and the Honinbo and soon."

Waya gaped at her, dumbstruck by her words. "Do you know how many people are trying to become the Honinbo? Or even a title holder?" Waya sputtered, they were a hundred meters from McDonalds. Even if you get past the preliminaries, you have to participate in the title leagues with some of the best Japanese Go players ever."

"I know that," Shindo replied. "I said soon, didn't I? I'll just play better than I have been playing."

"It's not that easy," Waya answered, frustrated. Shindo had only been an insei for a very short three months and she was at the bottom of Class A but then, Waya remembered that her ranking would shoot up after today's game.

They were in McDonalds and they claimed two tables for their rag tag group of insei. Reflecting on the entire conversation, Waya deduced that Shindo had been extremely open to them for only speaking for a short amount of time.

"Are you guys excited about the Young Lion's tournament?" Fukui asked after they returned to the table after they ordered their food.

"The Young Lion's tournament?" Shindo questioned, splitting her chopsticks in half over her bento, the same type she always brought.

This time, Waya forgave her for her lack of knowledge. Shindo was clearly sheltered from the Go world, and before he could answer, Nase did it for him. "The Young Lion's tournament is a tournament for the top 16 insei and 5-dans under the age of twenty-five. It's a pretty new tournament."

"Oh," Shindo stopped eating. "So when's the cut off date for the insei rankings?" She began to push her food around.

"In a few months," Honda answered, returning with the tray of their food. "It's a good indicator for the pro exam."

"Oh, do you think my ranking will be high enough to participate?" Shindo inquired, still pushing her food around.

"It should be," Honda reassured. "If you play like you did against me..." He trailed off, keeping his eyes on his food.

"You're a good player," Shindo answered absentmindedly. "You just weren't ready for my fuseki. It's something that I've noticed with the entire class, the insei classes lack innovation. You go with tried and true when you should really be expanding your horizons with every game you play. Isn't that the point of the games?" She tilted her head questioningly. "My fuseki surprised you a lot and threw you off your game. It was hard to recover after that," she drifted off. "Expand on that and your play should be better."

"Then what's your weakness?" Waya realized how potentially rude that was and Nase had already kicked him under the table, or at least he thought it was Nase.

"My yose," Shindo answered. "It's not all that bad but I could definitely use some more practice and my playing style entirely should be more modern. Most of the games I've been playing haven't exactly pushed me to yose so I haven't had the opportunity to develop the necessary skills. Thankfully, I have a senpai whose Go game is pretty bad but his yose skills are better than his actual level. He's been giving me tips for the past three years." There was a brief awkward silence as everyone contemplated this and Waya's eyes began to tear. "So what kind of pros are at the Young Lion's tournament?"

"Good, upcoming pros." Nase answered, shooting a glare at Waya. "But it's been Touya Akira who's been winning it lately."

"Lately," Shindo asked, poised to take a bite of shrimp. "Touya... is he related to the Meijin?"

"Related? He's only his son," Waya snorted. "He's won it for the past two years and he'll probably win it again."

"Huh, how hard do you think it would be to win the tournament?" Shindo mused openly, chewing her piece of shrimp.

"Are you insane?" Waya hissed. He had gotten mad a lot during the lunch. He attributed it mostly to Shindo and her weirdness. "Most insei don't even get passed the third round, let alone the finals."

"Fine, then I'll be the insei who does get pass the third round and makes it to the finals." Shindo answered simply. "There's no point in selling yourself short before you even play."

* * *

Three weeks had already passed and now it was Waya's turn to face Shindo. After their lunch at McDonalds, Waya spent the walk back mulling over Shindo's words. He had been in the top spot for nearly four months and he didn't want to lose it. He approached Honda, where he would hopefully get some advice about Shindo.

"Just try to learn from her," Honda advised without hesitation. He wasn't willing to say anymore.

How was he supposed to win if all he got was useless advice? All the insei looked at him with pity in their eyes as the clocked ticked down until it was match time.

He went to the goban and decided to prepare at least mentally for the game. He had to be a hundred percent if he wanted any chance at all. As usual, Shindo was almost late but she had never been late enough for the clock to be ticking when she arrived.

Three minutes before Shinoda-sensei called time, Shindo walked in with her trademark fan, grasped in her hand. "Nigiri?" Shindo asked as she sat down.

Waya nodded and grabbed the go-ke on the right. It was white. He grabbed a handful of stones and Shindo placed down two black stones. One, two, four, eleven. He won black. They switched the two go-kes and they bowed. He placed his first stone on the upper left Hoshi and they began.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. They had been playing for a little bit over an hour and a half. Tap. Tap. Granted, it had been longer than any match Shindo had played but Waya was struggling. It was hard to understand just how good Shindo was at Go.

He slid in another stone at 13-5 and glanced up at the girl. Any traces of the confused, naïve girl when they walked to McDonalds was gone and all that was left was no mercy for an opponent, or friend.

The tapping stopped momentarily as Shindo grabbed another stone and placed it and the final shape revealed itself to Waya. The stones that he thought were placed mistakenly suddenly made sense.

"I have nothing."

* * *

"Shindo, why are you still an insei? Why aren't you a pro?" Waya pulled her aside before as they walked to McDonalds again for lunch. He was still trying to wrap his head but he just couldn't.

"Because, I want to get better," Shindo answered. "Waya, I intend to find the Hand of God."

"Who was your teacher?" Waya got the feeling that it was someone important, someone so strong that it would have been inevitable that they produced a student like Shindo. While the Hand of God was inspirational, it couldn't have been easy spending all this time crushing insei, when she could have been crushing pros.

"I didn't have a teacher," Shindo replied smoothly, too quick for Waya to accept it at face value but when he realized that Shindo's smile had left her face, he decided to leave it alone until a future time.

"There's something out there, Waya, and I haven't found it yet."

* * *

After his defeat, Shindo took the third spot without any surprise. Everyone knew that she should have been first but she hadn't been an insei long enough. It had been five months since she became an insei and the Young Lion's tournament was only a month away.

"You've never had a formal teacher," Waya nearly shrieked. "But?"

"I've been to Go salons," Shindo replied sheepishly. "But as for formal teachers, no. I've had people give me tips on how to improve my game but that's about it."

"My teacher, Morishita-sensei, he's a nine dan, holds study sessions. If you want a professional point of view on your game, you should come." He didn't care that his sensei could have been possibly upset with him for inviting some newbie insei to his study session without his permission, but he'd be even more upset if he knew that if Waya had let someone like Shindo get away.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Waya." Shindo turned away. Waya didn't know Shindo al that well, but he realized, that, unknowingly, he had crossed a line.

There was something about Shindo bothered Waya. He saw the younger girl like a sister, a secretive sister but a sister. She had her secrets and Waya tried to respect that as much as possible, even though it was eating him on the inside. She didn't, outside of the Tokyo Institute, seem to take Go very seriously and that pissed Waya off a lot. But inside the Institute, during a game, Shindo treated it like a life and death matter.

Something in her would change, like a switch had been turned on, and her eyes would burn into a brilliant green and she would always dominate, no matter what. Waya thought she was invincible.

* * *

**Comments:**

Thank you for all of your kind comments. I hadn't realized it would be that popular. : D

The Hikaru that I am trying to convey is someone who is lost but is trying to find her way. She's only going off what Sai wanted, to find the Hand of God. For Hikaru, there is no eternal rival. She doesn't know that you need two people for it.

The reason why Hikaru appeared so early to Honda's match was because she believed that he would help her find the Hand of God. When he didn't, Hikaru started being late again.

Also Hikaru makes a lot of people cry. Why? Because facing Sai, she didn't learn restraint. So, she makes hopeful, little insei kids cry because she outright crushes them and destroys all of their hopes and dreams of becoming pros. Go Hikaru.

I don't think I need to tell you the significance of the Honinbo title, do I? Also with her tapping of the fan bit, in both the manga and anime, Hikaru starts to tap his go-ke when he knows the match is over. Genderbent!Hikaru starts that a bit prematurely.

Oh yes, canon manipulation here. Isumi goes to China with Nine Stars club earlier than what was in canon. I really liked Isumi's growth in the manga so I wanted to add it here.


	3. Surprise Encounter off the Goban

Shindo Hikaru, unsurprisingly, was the top insei by the time the Young Lion's Tournament arrived. She was undefeated and all of her wins were by resignations. Most of the younger insei were terrified of her.

Both Waya and Honda knew that they should have felt some sort of resentment towards the girl but they both agreed that it was hard because she was always cheerful, friendly and helpful off the goban. She always had a critique that managed to elevate their game.

The only really bothersome thing about Shindo was just how apathetic she was. During review of games during class, Shindo almost always had her notebook out, not taking notes, preoccupied with something else. Unless prodded, she would just observe, staying silent. Shindo seemed bored with it all.

What Waya kept to himself was that Shindo didn't really know what she was doing. She wanted to become the Honinbo and find the Hand of God but she didn't really know how to do that. However, Waya knew that Shindo was much more complex more that she revealed.

Shindo was going to become a pro. She was too good not to.

* * *

After a long time of convincing Shindo to accompany to Dougenzaka, or Heart of Stone, which was a pretty good go salon. Or so he heard. The reason why it was hard convincing Shindo to come with him was because she complained that the smell of smoke, which plagued the parlors, took forever to get out of clothes.

The real reason Waya insisted that Shindo come with him was because he wanted to see more of the naïve goofball outside the goban. Shindo had several topics that Waya deemed untouchable because Shindo became very awkward around said topics. Most of the time she would shut down. Hopefully, as Shindo spent more time with Waya, she would grow more secure around him and he would learn more about her.

They talked about a lot of things on the walk to the Go parlor. Waya was surprised that her favorite food was ramen, he learned a lot about soccer and that she also liked tennis. They climbed the stairs and when they opened the door to the salon, they were met with a face full of smoke. This caused Shindo to sneeze loudly and that attracted everyone's' attention.

The parlor, like most, had a used and comfortable feel to it and it was also filled with old people. With a bright smile at his compatriot, Waya approached the counter, which was manned by an elder woman. "Hey, if we beat two of your customers in matches, will you waive the fee?" Isumi and he had wandered around to several Go parlors and had made similar deals. Most of the time they had won and the customers had always been pleased to play insei.

The desk lady stiffened. "Waive the fee?" She sounded offended at Waya's offer. "Now, don't be so arrogant."

A couple of men were already eyeing Shindo and Waya and when they heard his offer, they approached the desk with interest.

"It's alright Mereko. Me, Doumoto and Saya will play the brats. The offer sounds intriguing. We'll knock them down to size."

The other men nodded eagerly, eyeing both Waya and Shindo. If Waya had to take a guess, they were estimating who was the stronger of the two. "I will play as well." An older man with pure white hair stood up and joined the other three men.

"Master!" The customers cheered as the man who owned the _Heart of Stone _walked up to them.

"Pft." Mereko snorted with disbelief. She leveled herself to Waya's eye level. "But if either of you lose, you have to wash all of the go stones."

"Done!" Waya shot back with a mix of false bravado.

"Waya," Shindo grasped him by the arm, whispering in his ear. "I don't want to wash go stones."

"We won't have to, Shindo." Waya whispered back. "Not if we win."

The gobans were easily and quickly set up and the older men were arguing about whom they were going to play. The old man master chose to play Waya. "We'll take White on both boards, regular rules," Waya suggested.

"Arrogant, aren't you?" The man across Waya remarked.

"Not arrogant," Shindo murmured, sitting down. "More like confident. Please give me guidance." She bowed her head and Waya did the same and they began the games.

Waya wasn't particularly fond of the playing multiple matches and he wasn't sure if Shindo would do well. This would most likely be her first time of ever playing two games at once. However, what Waya saw from Shindo was that she was very adaptable and she most likely do fine.

By the first ten moves and as Waya finished up his joseki, it was clear that the 'master' was much better than his patrons. He was much more confident than the other man Waya was playing.

* * *

"I resign..." It came from Shindo's right opponent who was staring at his board in such disbelief that Waya thought he would faint. It had only been thirty moves for Waya and Shindo was already finished decimating her opponent. He must have been getting soft.

"Me too.." Came minutes later. He was definitely getting soft. The double resignation peaked Waya's interest and he glanced over from his game and read the board.

Both games had barely entered chuban and this scared his opponents' immensely because they soon resigned as well. The master took the longest but those matches against Shindo had taught him how to play confidently even when he didn't feel confident. They took at least fifteen moves longer than Shindo's games.

"..Are you two pros?" The master of the salon stared at both Waya and Shindo in amazement.

"No, we are insei," Waya answered politely while Shindo replied, "No, not yet." Waya eyed Shindo for a split second because the quiet confidence that Shindo held was something he had not seen often. He saw that loud confidence a lot but she was never silent except during the first few months of her insei career. Waya attributed that to the fact she didn't know anybody or anything. He was also shocked at the confidence Shindo displayed at her sureness that Waya would become a pro and soon. He didn't know why a warm feeling was spreading throughout his body.

"I wanna play them next!"

"Me too!" With their fast victories, Waya and Shindo were a hit at the Heart of Stone Go salon.

"I think I've got the hang of this playing with multiple boards thing," Shindo grinned cheerfully, the quiet surreal feeling surrounding her having disappeared. "I think I should be able to handle more boards."

They spent their entire Sunday afternoon like this, passing time and crushing and teaching others at Go. After two or more hours of this, another patron, a wild looking man wearing a goatee, entered the Go salon. Waya thought he saw Shindo stiffen when the man entered the salon.

"Kawai-san!" The lady at the counter greeted 'Kawai-san' with a lot more cheer than she had with Shindo and Waya. "It has been a very interesting afternoon. These two are insei and they have been playing at the salon for the entire afternoon and they are very good."

"They even beat Master!" One of the men, Waya thought Shindo beat him, added.

"Really?" Kawai stroked his goatee with interest. "I'll play one of you, who do you want it to be?"

"I'll play you," Shindo stood up with the very same gleam in her eye that Waya saw before she played Honda. "One question. Are you a cab driver?"

"Yes, why?" Kawai asked.

"You drove me in Tokyo once," Shindo informed coolly. "Remember? You brought me to Shuusaku's grave there, the Honmyo museum and you also drove me back to my house." To Kawai's bewildered look. "I was crying, you asked if my parents knew where I was."

"Oh, sad eyes."

"You name your clients?"

"...Some of them, only if they're interesting enough." A pause, Waya couldn't keep his eyes straight, they kept darting back and forth between the two opponents. "Did you ever find what you were looking for?"

"No."

"Well, bring on the game, kid." Kawai challenged. "Bet you can't force a tie when I'm trying to beat you."

"A what?" Shindo turned to ask Waya. "What's a tie? In Go, I mean?"

"A tie happens when the players have the same amount of territory," Waya explained. He had learned to accept that Shindo needed a lot of things explained to her. "It's pretty much impossible because of komi. Some pro's even have problems doing it."

"Sounds like fun."

* * *

As it was the day before the Young Lion's Tournament, which Amano had the privilege of covering as a reporter of _Weekly Go! _and so he was busy the entire day preparing for the event.

His biggest problem of the entire event would be coming up with another name for _Touya Akira thrashes opponent. Again_.

He took a bus to reach Tokyo's Go Institute where he would talk to Shinoda-san, the main teacher of the insei and who was also an acquaintance of his that always made a good potential interviewee. If Amano needed some information about the insei who would participate in the tournament, Shinoda-san would be the man to ask.

"Hello Shinoda-san," Amano greeted, noting that a few insei were crowded around Go boards, most likely getting some last minute review before the tournament started. He recognized a few of said insei. "Are you excited for the tournament?" AS the teacher of the insei, Shinoda-san always had a pretty good idea of what would happen in the tournament, regarding the insei, about who would go far and who would not.

"Always." Shinoda-san answered diplomatically. "The Young Lion's Tournament is a good way, figuratively, for insei to get their feet wet. It will be very helpful for them when the Pro Exams arrives."

"Any thoughts on who will win the tournament?" Amano asked, taking out a work pad to take notes.

"I'm not sure who will win," Shinoda-san's response shocked Amano. Although Touya-kun had never been an insei, Amano knew that Shinoda-san knew that Touya-kun was very strong, stronger than any of his peers. Amano also noted that Shinoda-san kept looking back and forth as if he was expecting something. Several recognizable insei were crowded around a goban as they chattered about reviewing a game.

"I had been Ogata-Judan, I would have done a counterpincer at 6-4 instead of doing a hane against Kuwabara-Honinbo." A girl remarked, the clacking of the stones as she demonstrated her moves emphasizing her point. "It gives him a better opportunity to attack Kuwabara-Honinbo's territory in the upper left."

"Huh?"

"If Ogata-Judan wanted to go after Kuwabara-Honinbo's territory in the upper left he could have placed a counter pincer at 6-4 and followed up with a kake at 8-4, he would have been in perfect position to launch a series of attacks to take down Kuwabara-Honinbo. I'm not sure how it would affect his board position because when he could be doing what I just said, he was strengthening his position in the center," the same girl explained. Amano-san figured they were talking about the recent league match in the Honinbo league that Ogata-Judan barely lost. "I don't think I'm going at this the right way, though."

"A new insei?" Amano asked wryly.

"Of a sort," Shinoda-san smiled. "I expect great things from her."

"So you don't believe what most believe, that Touya Akira will win the tournament for the third time in a row?" Amano enquired, curious.

"No, it's just that we have some promising new insei," Shinoda-san answered with another smile.

"Names?"

"Just watch and you will understand," Shinoda-san replied cryptically, as he went to answer one of his insei's questions.

* * *

It was the day of the tournament and Amano had spent some time mulling over Shinoda-san's words. They were curious but he couldn't spend too much time on the words because he had a few articles to prepare for before the next issue.

The insei must have been amazing for Shinoda-san to even hint at her. The insei must have been stronger than Ochi or Isumi, who were both insei before they passed last year.

They were impressive young pros who had respectable records. They were still in the process of becoming well known players, however. Every pro could recognize Touya Akira's name. Those two were no Touya Akira but who could blame them. Everyone knew Touya-kun's father, Touya Kouyo, or the Ex-Meijin.

The chatter quieted for a moment, when Amano stopped from his musing and realized that Touya-kun had arrived at the Tokyo Go Institute, the future of Japanese Go, much like his father had been.

He was dressed informally, compared to his usual attire. He wore a light green shirt and khakis, which would make a good photograph for when Amano had to photograph the finalists of the tournament.

Touya-kun was keeping to himself, leaning against a wall and not looking eager to talk to anyone. Not that anyone would particularly be interested in talking to him. Most of the pros and insei avoided speaking to the fifteen-year-old 3-dan. Touya-kun had the air of 'don't come near me, please' while looking completely oblivious to the multiple looks of distrust and envy.

Amano hated his job sometimes because he was about Touya-kun's situation much worse. "Touya-kun, may I speak to you for a moment?" The tournament would begin fifteen minutes; he would have plenty of time for a short interview.

Touya-kun raised his head and Amano was instantly shocked at the inconceivable power and confidence in his eyes. His father's eyes. The intensity that vibrated around Touya-kun, it was unbelievable.

And then he smiled and all thoughts and tension disappeared. "Of course, Amano-san." Touya-kun answered, he was always very polite and kind. They made their way outside for a quick interview where they would most likely not be interrupted by anyone. Every time Amano saw Touya-kun, he always interviewed the teenager. It must have been tiring for him.

As he was a shy individual, every personal question, generally about the opposite sex, made him blush, like a tomato. "I just wanted to ask your opinion for the tournament, as you have been the winner for two years running and you are going to defend your title, again."

Touya-kun didn't answer immediately. Like his father, Touya-kun preferred to think about his answer for a bit, even to the simplest questions.

"I-".

A young girl collided into Touya-kun, interrupting his answer. While they did not fall, it certainly stopped Touya-kun from answering Amano's questions.

"I am so sorry!" The girl did an extremely formal bow, bent at the waist. Amano did not see many of those around. "I didn't mean to!" She fixed a strap of her heels. "I just-" She sputtered, tugging at the heels. If Amano had to venture a guess, it was the young girl's first time at wearing such a type of shoes.

"It's okay," Touya-kun soothed, very much like the gentleman he was. "We know that it was an accident."

The girl blushed again and bit her lip. Amano estimated that she was around Touya-kun's age. He had never seen her before at the Institute, but there was something very familiar about her voice.

"Shindo!" Waya, a familiar insei who had nearly passed the Pro Exam last year and who Amano suspected would pass this year with some ease, waved at the teenage girl from the doorway to get her attention.

"Just a minute Waya," Shindo called back and to them, "I apologize my clumsiness." Then she retreated back into the Institute where Waya was waiting with a group of insei.

"As I was about to say," Touya-kun continued calmly without a second look at the girl, "I believe that nothing is certain. Everyone has their good and bad days and go will always remain just that, unpredictable."

"Any thoughts on rivals?" Amano asked as he scribbled Touya-kun's answer on a notepad.

"Everyone is my rival, Amano-san." Touya-kun answered with sincerity. "I learn as much as I can from every single game. All games matter to me."

* * *

"Do you know who you just bumped into? Waya hissed. The girl, with a penchant for trouble, actually bumped into Touya and Amano-san. He walked over with her so she could exchange her fancy looking heels for her indoor slippers.

"I already said I was sorry," Shindo answered, "And no, I don't know who I bumped into. Enlighten me, please." She retorted, returning to some of her brusqueness.

"That was Touya Akira..." Waya answered in a stage whisper.

"The Meijin's son?" Shindo asked, confused. "Oh," as the realization dawned on her.

"Oh? Oh?" Waya flailed. "That's not just oh, Shindo. It's bigger than oh!"

"It was an accident," Shindo groaned. "I'm just going to forget that the entire thing happened, Waya." She focused her attention on the others. "So who do you play first?"

"I've got Touya first," Fukui groaned. "I'm going to get crushed, again." Fukui had played Touya in the preliminaries of the Pro exam two years ago and lost terribly.

"You shouldn't give up so easily," Waya protested. "Come on Fukui, believe in yourself."

"Okay, I believe I will be lose. Badly."

Shindo glanced at Fukui curiously. "Just how good is Touya Akira, anyways?"

Waya stared at her. Scratch that, the entire group stared at her. "Shindo, I think his records speak for himself. He became a pro at twelve, he's won the Young Lion's Tournament for two years in a row and he's actually been part of league matches. Rumors are that he learned how to play Go when he was two years old and he plays with the Meijin daily. Can you imagine playing with the best Go player in Japan, every single day?"

"Yes," Shindo answered nonchalantly, as if Waya's information overload went over her head. "I can. Anyone else?"

"I've got to play Isumi, wish me luck." Nase held up a victory sign, stuck out her tongue and winked. "So if both you and I win, we'll play in the second round, Shindo."

"Sweet, Honda?"

"Ochi," Honda groaned. "This is not going to be fun." No one in the insei group really liked Ochi, who had been an insei as well and always lorded his superiority over them.

"Ochi?" Shindo didn't have the privilege of knowing his annoyingness because she had just joined the insei class. If she had been part of the insei before he passed, something told Waya that Ochi would have pulled his hair out at Shindo's nonchalant attitude.

"Red head, bad taste in clothing," Waya described. "He's the short one with a bowl cut."

"Poor child," Shindo murmured. "So who's the tall red head who keeps looking at us?"

"That is Mashiba," Fukui said with disgust.

"They're both really annoying but I've got to say, Mashiba is more annoying than Ochi. At least Ochi has talent." Nase agreed. "You have to play Mashiba, Shindo. Be sure to crush him."

Honda rolled his eyes. "If you beat Isumi, you'll see Ochi in the 3rd round if he also gets there. But he should, he did last year when he was still an insei. He lost to Touya that year. He was livid."

"Did you guys memorize the tournament draw?" Shindo asked, the look on her face only looking slightly perturbed.

They all exchanged awkward because what they did memorize was Shindo's match schedule to make sure that they wouldn't run into her. Waya and Fukui were the only ones who were on the opposite side of the draw. "We memorize our friends," Waya deflected. "Since you have no clear idea on who you're going to play."

"I do too," Shindo protested. "Wait, who's Mashiba again?"

"Tall red head," Nase replied. "He has bad taste in clothing too, irritating berk." The others made sour faces at the name.

"We don't like him," Shindo guessed.

"He's rude and irritating." Fukui answered truthfully. "Two years ago, he made fun of Isumi for not passing the Pro exam that year. Waya got to punch him out because Mashiba was bragging when he only passed his exam since he was lucky. It was awesome." He sighed with admiration.

"Oh. Who's Isumi?"

"See, if you actually had an internal clock and made it on time, I would have introduced you to him." Waya shook his head. "He's nice and really good. He went to China two years ago and kicked some massive butt when he came back. He passed the Pro exam undefeated and Nase has to play him first round."

"...okay."

"Quiet please," the intercom rang out. "We will now commence the 9th annual Young Lions' Tournament located at the Tokyo Go Institute. If the participants would please take their seats, it would be greatly appreciated."

They all glanced at each other, sending silent words of encouragement and good luck. They exchanged nervous smiles and Waya watched Shindo move towards where Mashiba was already waiting. He hoped Shindo would crush him. He also wanted to give Shindo one last sign of encouragement as a final wink but saw that she was already sitting down and her back was turned.

Something big was going to happen today, Waya could feel it.

* * *

**Comments:**

Thank you all for your kind comments. :D

In Aishuu's _Burning Brightly_, it is noted several times that Waya is a bit jealous of Hikaru. With Genderbent!Hikaru, there is less of a feeling of competitiveness and she is also a lot more open about Sai. She doesn't know that Sai was a big deal on the Internet. However, she does know that Sai was amazing, as a Go player and as an individual. When Ko Yeongha insults Shuusaku, expect something big from Hikaru.

Genderbent!Hikaru, as with many of her counterparts, is a tomboy. She's never worn heels a day of her life and when she does, she runs into someone. Anyone ever done that before? I've fallen down stairs when I was wearing a pair. Left a big bruise.

By the way, Touya is BSing his interview. He doesn't believe a word he is saying. Note, that Hikaru and Touya never met. Their encounter on the goban shall be an eye opener, for both of them. They have been on the top of their worlds as Go players, figuratively, they have no idea about each other.

Waya and Shindo flirt a bit (actually, I'm not sure if this is flirting or not, someone save me from my social awkwardness) but fear not, it will not turn into anything. Something else will happen.

I liked Ochi, yes, he is very annoying in the manga but when he meets Hikaru, he will realize that being superior in Go does not merit a crappy attitude.

Now as the insei class grows more used to Hikaru, she does not subdue any of her ferocity on the goban but tempers it with helpful advice on how to improve her peers' game, a pseudo teacher if you will.


	4. Those Who Cannot Swim and Those Who Can

Mashiba glanced at the fairly pretty insei who was his opponent. She had quickly taken the seat across from him, humming cheerfully. He was trying to hide his fear and she was having fun. Last year, he had been humiliated by his rival, Isumi, and so this year he was determined to take his revenge. But first, he would have to win against his first round opponent, in order to make it to the second round where Isumi would surely be waiting.

However, he had also been matched with the top insei and that made him very nervous. Every year, a few insei won their first round matches and Shindo, if she was as good as her position said she was, could be one of those insei. This did not bode well for him.

Mashiba knew that he was not particularly talented. He just earned his 2-dan ranking and he only won his matches on the major errors of his opponents. He knew how to play but not, apparently like Isumi. Isumi this, Isumi that; it made him sick. Isumi-sama!

He had to beat this insei who he had heard a record that was undefeated. Did this make him feel confident? Nope. "Are you Shindo?" He asked, opening his goke to check that its stones were white. They were.

"Yes, I am," she chirped, shifting in her seat. "This is my first official tournament so I'm really excited." She smiled and studied the goban, tracing one of the many lines with her index finger.

"I see," Mashiba said lightly. The fact that she was a total newbie would help his situation. If he scared her, he could probably run away with this match. "Well, don't let me intimidate you just because I'm a pro."

"I'm not scared," Shindo kept smiling as if she had faced things that were much scarier than he on a daily basis. The uncanny confidence that his opponent displayed was disturbing, like she knew something that he did not. Weird.

He shook himself from the trance that Shindo had weaved. It wouldn't do him any good to begin the match intimidated himself. The buzzer rang and Shindo began the match by firmly placing a stone on 4-4, the upper right Hoshi.

Mashiba responded by slapping another stone on the upper left Hoshi, which Shindo replied quickly and placed the stone on. Playing off each other, they formed the typical fuseki.

He glanced at Shindo's hands, then fingers. Somehow they were placing stones far more elegantly than his as he lacked the usual grace of a well-practiced pro.

Pachi. Shindo did not even look at Mashiba or anybody, keeping her eyes freakishly trained on the goban in perfect concentration. She continued focusing her defense on the right side of the goban, occasionally making offensive moves on the right.

Pachi. Taking a deep breath, Mashiba moved to attack one of Shindo's stones on the left, daring to take a chance.

Pachi. Shindo ignored it, placing another stone near the lower right hoshi.

Pachi.

Pachi.

Pachi.

Pachi.

* * *

Ko fights were beginning to break loose on the board and it took everything Mashiba had to keep up with Shindo's rapidly fastening play. Shindo had a definite plan and Mashiba realized that he couldn't do much about it. The battle in the upper left corner cost him a few stones but that was alright, Go was a game of gaining territory at a slow pace. It was a game of territory not of stones. The sweat dripping down his forehead was disgusting, as he wiped it away with his sleeve. The intensity of Shindo was a bit frightening, not much would shake her and every move Mashiba did was... expected by Shindo. He was right, Shindo had a definite plan and that plan included knowing his every move and crushing him.

Shindo was not just an insei but a go pro on the levels that were far above he. She was playing above her age. Her reading of the board was far more comprehensible of what he could muster or master.

He quickly resigned and fled the goban and the room after they finished cleaning. That girl was not normal.

No one noticed the smile of a self-satisfied teenager as she went out to the waiting hall. The day was only beginning.

* * *

Had anyone ever had the guts or actually wanted to speak to Touya Akira, they would have been speaking to a soft spoken young man who was bred for the Go World. In this way, he strongly resembled his father.

They both had the same drive for success, the intensity and love for the game as well as the very same circumstances. They were both isolated, they also no peers. Any peers they did have were far older than them and in the ex-Meijin's case, there truly was no one better than he in Japan and those who could, were dead. Until he met sai, the go-saint of the net, where his identity remained secret.

Most commented that after the Meijin lost to sai, he had changed, greatly. The best one to ask was Ogata-sensei, who had played the Meijin right before and after sai played the Meijin. He was not changed by his retirement, when most believed that he would continue being a pro until he was Kuwabara Honinbo's age, but his playing style had changed, morphed into something new.

He experimented more, thought outside of tradition and he played as if he were a man without limits, burden and no regrets. It was an amazing thing to witness. His evolution, the process in which he transformed.

But today would be about Touya Akira, who was playing Fukui-kun, an insei who was about three years younger than Touya-kun. Fukui-kun relied on instinctive, fast moves that often flustered his opponents, like Waya-kun, who had lost to Fukui-kun every single year until last year during the Pro Exam.

However, because this was Touya-ku, he remained calm and kept playing another stone on 13-2 during the late stages of chuban, which effectively cut off all attempts at a comeback, having sliced Fukui-kun's shape in half. Amano had to wince at that particular move; it was getting quite painful to watch.

"I have nothing," Fukui-kun bowed his head. It was a good match for Fukui-kun but Touya-kun had completely outplayed him. It seemed unnatural for Touya-kun to be surrounded by a crowd of admiring fans when among his peers he was left alone on an extremely isolated pedestal.

"Did you know that Kuwabara Honinbo was my teacher?" Shinoda-san murmured as he approached Amano, keeping one eye on the proceedings with some degree of interest. Amano nodded, signaling that he knew and Shinoda-san continued. "He always said that Go is a two person game, you can't play it alone. He said that it stands to reason that when reaching for the Hand of God, there needs to be another player. It makes me wonder who the other player will be."

"Pardon?"

"Touya-kun is brightly burning, but it's foolish to think he can do it forever alone; he has two choices, he has to find a rival or become like his father." Shinoda-san paused. "But even so, Touya-Meijin found a rival, if only for a short time. And even then, we know how much he has changed."

"Are you speaking of the net player sai?" Amano asked perplexed. sai had appeared on the net for four whole years until he disappeared nearly half a year ago. He had been amazing but there had never been another sighting, like he had vanished into thin air.

"Yes, _sai_ functioned as a rival for the Meijin but Touya-kun hasn't found one yet. I doubt that he's even thought about the possibility of there being a rival for him. He has never looked back." Shinoda-san remarked. "He's on top of his world, like his father before him, reaching new limits and setting precedents unheard of. And all the while, he is alone."

"..."

"Will he ever consider and stop and look behind what he left?" Shinoda-sensei mused. "Or will someone make him look back?"

"What, look back? Shinoda-san, what are you talking about?" Amano questioned, confused. He looked at Shinoda-san who was standing firm, unaware or uncaring of the impact of the words he was spouting.

"A rival, Amano-san, for young Touya-kun." Shinoda-san explained softly. "He is advancing and burning quite well on his own but those who burn alone can only burn half as long and half as bright."

* * *

Isumi was the best example of the Go world professionals. Well mannered, good looks and coupled with an urge to win, evident in the two months he spent in China, he would be one of the best in a few years.

He had been expecting Mashiba in the second round, not Mashiba's insei opponent, Shindo Hikaru. In preparation, he even reviewed a few of Mashiba's kifu over a cup of coffee. It was unfortunate that his work went to waste.

He watched slightly envious as Shindo was having her hair ruffled by Waya while with some of Isumi's old insei friends, Nase, Fukui and Honda. He used to apart of them last year, isolated by the fact he had been the only one of the group who had passed the exam. With no losses. This made him stand out, a lot, as he had been the top-ranked insei when the Pro Exam happened.

His friendship with Waya and the others had definitely withered in the past year, having beaten Waya in the last round of the pro exam, effectively giving Waya no chance of overtaking Kadowaki or Ochi.

When the second round was about to begin and Shindo had to go to the restroom. Before they had to go to their seats, Waya pulled Isumi over to the side, rather conspiratorially and was given advice. Strange advice. "Isumi, take Shindo seriously."

"What?"

"Isumi, seriously. Do not underestimate her. Shindo may look nice and all, but do not fall for it. You will get crushed," Waya's eyes were slightly wild. Isumi had to wonder what had happened in the past six months since he became a pro.

"Waya, of course I'm going to take her seriously. She beat Mashiba," Isumi answered completely bewildered at Waya's paranoia.

"Alright, I'm just saying," Waya said, heading over to his match with another older pro. "Good luck, Isumi, you're gonna need it."

Isumi watched Waya shove his hands into his pockets as he went over to his theory. Waya had easily won his first round and would play an older pro, where Isumi was sure that he would win again.

Now, as Isumi had been the old number one insei and Shindo was the new number one insei, this meant that their match attracted a lot of attention, mostly from the insei class.

Shindo was utterly casual, in the way she sat down, fixed her dress and her mannerisms. She smiled at Isumi that didn't seem to hard to form. This was a match Isumi figured he would enjoy, regardless of the winner. He wondered why Waya felt the need to warn Isumi about her. There was nothing about the match that felt malicious.

"Hello," Isumi greeted. "Shindo-chan correct?" Isumi asked, checking his go-ke. She nodded in response. "Pleasure to meet you."

She smiled even brighter, "Don't believe anything Waya told you." She answered lightly. "I do not have the sense of a blind bat." It reeked of an inside joke that Isumi figured Shindo was sharing with him. "He's completely biased. I wasn't late today and therefore he has no basis for his 'lies'. Never listen to Waya."

"Why do you assume that Waya told me anything?" Isumi countered, raising one of his eyes.

"It's you and Waya," she waved her hand dismissively, as if pushing the assumption away. "Of course he told you something. You guys are close, aren't you?"

"We were," Isumi confirmed quietly. "He said good luck." Isumi confessed. It was not anything private and was not a deep dark secret that he had sworn to protect.

Shindo grinned and Isumi concluded that Shindo wasn't the type who didn't take herself too seriously, and all of this would factor into a match well played.

"Begin!"

Shindo made a split second decision and placed the stone on the upper left Hoshi, which Isumi corresponded with the lower right star. She placed another stone on the lower left Hoshi and he completed the parallel fuseki by claiming the upper left Hoshi.

It was a textbook Shuusaku opening, which concerned Isumi. Shindo continued playing simple moves, moves that Isumi knew and recognized. It was hard trying not to read too much into the moves because he didn't have the time to do so. But he wished he could because the underlying feeling that Isumi was having discomforted him.

The reason why Shindo's play bothered Isumi so was because all points indicated that Shindo wasn't to be underestimated. Waya said it himself, she was the top insei and she beat Mashiba rather handily. But her conservative play countered all those points. She was not overtly aggressive nor did she make any 'stupid' moves.

Until she made a move for the center. She secured her side (right) and deflected any ventures Isumi made while making an expansion of her territory. Her plays were very modern but her strategy indicated to Isumi that there was some components in her play that was missing and it stuck because it was so odd. If Shindo had a formal teacher, like most insei did, her teacher would have told her what Isumi's had told him, "Corners, then sides and then the center."

Could she do it? She was facing the strongest insei of his time but there was definitely something about Shindo that threw him off.

Stormy, turbulent eyes that told of a player who knew what she was doing. Isumi reached into his go-ke and decided to make his move. He was determined to prove to Shindo that all matches were not declared by skill but sometimes by determination.

He placed a defensive move to slow Shindo's advance through the center, feeling that the real battle was about to start.

* * *

Only three insei made it to the second round, Amano noted as he reviewed the draw for the tournament. Two of them he knew as long time insei but they did not fit Shinoda-san's hints of description of his wonder insei. The other insei was Shindo Hikaru who could be the insei but he couldn't be sure. Shindo Hikaru was a girl, it being gender neutral. But his instincts told him that she was the insei he was looking for. Ranked first and new, she and Waya-san made it to their quarterfinal matches. Amano also noted that she had beaten Isumi-kun to make it there.

All he really could do was watch and see or do a little digging among the insei. He decided to approach Honda Toshinori, the third ranked insei who had the misfortune of being placed against Ochi, another talented pro who had been an insei the year before.

"Honda-kun? May I speak to you for a moment?" Amano asked politely as soon as he found him. Honda-san had nearly passed last year as well and was one of the favorites to become a pro this year as well.

"Sure," Honda nodded, looking a bit confused as to why someone like Amano-san would want to speak to him.

"I wanted to talk to you for a bit about the insei who made it to the third round." Amano informed him, taking out a notepad.

Realization dawned on Honda-kun's face as he realized Amano's true intention. "About Shindo, then," Honda-kun inferred. "It's alright, Shindo's pretty new, she's a surprise. Waya's been around for a bit."

"Yes, it surprised me ..." Amano drifted off, hoping that Honda-kun could continue to connect the dots.

"That she beat Isumi-san?" Honda-kun finished. "She's like that but you haven't seen her play." Honda-kun paused. "You should, you'll be able to understand better. She's different. She became an insei this year so she stuck out a bit when Shinoda-sensei introduced the new insei to the classes. But nothing could have prepared us for what happened."

"..." This silence was more to convince Honda-kun to continue.

"Have you heard her insei record? All resignations. I don't think anyone's pushed her to yose, yet. I've certainly never had a chance. I got her to the mid-stages of chuban but that's about it."

"..." This silence was more shock and Honda-kun still continued.

"Her style when she first became an insei was an older style, she liked using some of Shuusaku's joseki but the longer she was an insei, the less she used it. She became even scarier."

"Amazing."

Honda-kun shrugged, "It gets weirder when you talk to her. Not exactly what you'd call her typical."

"No, I wouldn't."

* * *

Ochi was not well-liked. He understood this, accepted it even. He would not care about his popularity if it meant he would be successful as a Go professional.

That being said, he was slightly disgruntled by the fact that he would not be playing Isumi, a fellow former insei and the opponent he had been expecting.

His actual opponent would be Shindo Hikaru, the top insei at the Institute. The very same girl who was chatting with the other insei and oddly Isumi as well. It would be just like Isumi to not feel animosity towards an opponent he had just lost to.

Shindo Hikaru was a virtual unknown. There were no records of her even existing in the professional Go until this year, which would most likely mean, that she was inexperienced. Ochi had a good feeling about this match.

He would not lose this match, not this match in the third round, where he had lost last year. As a rising pro, he would be expected to improve and he would show his improvement by getting past the third round this year.

He may have been young but he would show the world that he had as much or even more talent that Touya Akira. He would be the one to shock the world.

* * *

"Don't underestimate Ochi," Waya warned. He was doing that a lot it seemed.

Hikaru sighed. "That's what you said about Isumi. I did fine, didn't I?" She protested. "We had a very good match." She did more than fine, she won by another resignation. She was beginning to regret her decision of becoming an insei.

But then again, she would have been able to meet any friends who understand her love of the game if not more.

She wondered if it were a running trend, that the prettier (certainly prettier than her) and more effeminate a Go player was, the better they were. Sai, who could have been mistaken for a freaking girl (which she did), was the best player she knew. Then there was Touya Akira, who was also very pretty and everyone had claimed that he was amazing but she had never seen her play so she had to rely on what people said about him. Isumi-san was a minor example; he certainly played well under pressure but it seemed that he hadn't played well enough. It was oddly kind of disappointing.

"Isumi, will you talk to her?" Waya answered, infuriated. It was kind of funny, making him flustered or mad. Very entertaining. Hikaru had to wonder what this meant for her sanity level.

Of course, she had a ghost living her head for the past four years so her sanity could be questionable.

"Shindo-san, Ochi is very good. In fact, if we played, I wouldn't be very sure who would win." Isumi-san informed her, who was very close to breaking out into giggles.

"But didn't you beat him during the Pro Exams?" Hikaru asked, curiously while stifling her giggles. She had done her research after all. Sai would have been proud at the amount of time she spent looking at kifu.

"Yes, I did but Ochi is very talented for his age." Isumi flushed. It also seemed pretty boys were emotional. Except Touya but she had only interacted with him once, so she couldn't be too sure. Sai, of course, had the penchant for bursting into tears whenever she upset him. And that was often, when she forgot her manners or refused to play a game of go because it was two in the morning on a school night.

Sai really liked playing inopportune games at the worst moments. Like when the Meijin was in the hospital and Sai was nearly in hysterics in his desire to play him.

"Fine," she pouted. "But in the first place, who said I wasn't going to take Ochi seriously."

Waya rolled his eyes. "Shindo, you'd be the type to not take this seriously." She couldn't argue with that. Waya, very rarely, saw her play seriously. Heck, no one ever saw her play seriously twice except for Sai. But he was Sai, so he didn't count.

"I'll be fine but if I have to take this match seriously," she made quotation marks. "Then you have to win your match."

"Counting your chickens before they hatch, Shindo?" Waya narrowed his eyes but she could tell that he was messing with her. They had this sort of banter going on for quite some time now.

"No," she smiled, saccharine sweet. "Just being optimistic."

* * *

"Ochi Kosuke, 2-dan." Ochi nodded, greeting a person that he could not take very seriously. She had blond streaks in her hair for goodness sake!

"Shindo Hikaru, insei," she replied, smiling. Ochi had to wonder why she was so cheerful.

"You've seemed to make on impression on my friends, Ochi-san." Shindo remarked lightly. "All of them said that you're really good. Waya, in fact, tried to drill it in my head. Stupid Waya," she said in an undertone.

Ochi blinked. Shindo was not normal.

Then Shindo turned serious, dangerously serious. She smiled a razor sharp smile. "I hope we have a good match, Ochi-san."

* * *

Isumi sipped a cup of tea, subtly wincing at the extremely bitter refreshment that the Institute had so graciously supplied. He watched Ochi stagger off to the bathroom, the result of a most likely crushing defeat by Shindo Hikaru.

He wondered if he had looked as haggard when he had lost. Shindo was definitely different than most go players. They, stereotypically, were a mostly male population and were very serious about the game. Shindo was the type of the player who smiled when crushing you.

Kind of intimidating, really. She was, in fact, the opposite of Touya Akira, Isumi realized that much when he analyzed her. She was special and she was different.

While Touya-san knew that he was better than most Go professionals, which Isumi seemed was the reason why he was so isolated, Shindo-san was oblivious to it, the fact that she could defeat a 2-dan without any effort.

Waya informed him that Shindo didn't have a teacher, not one that he was at least aware of. He also heard his conspiracy that Shindo may have been sai. She, apparently, froze when Waya had asked her about her teacher but Isumi had seen sai's kifu and while Shindo's was related, her skill level was nothing like sai. If anything, it looked like a reaction to sai's ancient playing style. Isumi thought that Waya was trying to see what he wanted to see, not the truth.

He had heard rumors of the new wave of Japan's Go, which Touya-san would be expected to lead. So it seem for now that Shindo-san would be the one leading it with him.

But then again, Shindo-san and Touya-san hadn't officially met yet so he couldn't really be sure because life had that nasty habit of pulling surprises.

Shinoda-sensei was quite pleased. His students were doing well. Beyond well, really. Three of his students had made it to the third round, which had been more than last year. However, now only one made it to the semi-finals: Shindo-chan.

While he could not claim he had any influence on her playing style, direct or indirect but he had been able to improve her yose skills. He showed her several kifu, demonstrating the kind of useful skills she would need to win and compete in yose. But no one had pushed her to yose, so that learned skill and claim was quite useless and unproven.

It was an odd sort of favoritism he showed, as he designed specific yose joseki for her to solve but he was charged with improving his student's skill level, which he had done by introducing Shindo-chan to the class.

While she mercilessly deconstructed everyone's game in the class, showing their weakness with a heartlessness that would have frightened him but her light personality proved him wrong, she also played an important role in reconstructing their skills. Everyone who had come into contact with her showed improvement, no matter how small.

Shindo-chan, at first, may have been a detriment to the insei class but she was slowly turned into something beneficial. The chance he had taken on her had been a good one.

* * *

**Comments:**

So tired. Finished this two weekends ago (Go four day weekends) but I didn't have time to type it up during the weekend and I had a competition the weekend before so whoo, go three hours of typing.

I have the other two chapters (Together We Stand, Divided We Fall and Ryuzaki Sato) finished but now I have to type those up too.

On a brighter note, I am working on Chapter 5 of Crest of the Wave, so expect that coming soon. Like a month soon. Maybe.

For this, girl!Hikaru is the messiah archetype deconstructed. Good charming girl who affects everyone she touches but can become serious in a heartbeat. We all know why she so gosh dang good but the other characters don't. Crest of the Wave won't be so much about how (I think but Aishuu won't confirm this for me D:) Hikaru (Brightly Burning) can't reach his full potential because he's copying Sai's style of playing. But rather how she evolves as a player. Telling you more would be spoilerish. In Crest of the Wave, Hikaru develops her own style because of reasons I'll tell you later.

I really hope that this isn't like Brightly Burning because while I relied on Aishuu's wonderful plot (with her permission) I plan to make serious deviations.

Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this story. I also hope that you will read my other stories.


	5. The First Meeting of Unexpected Rivals

"Shinoda-san, may I speak with you? It's rather quite important," Amano inquired, smiling tightyl. He actually wasn't upset with the teacher because he understood why Shinoda-san kept such a large secret from him but that wouldn't mean he wouldn't try to get information from him about one Shindo Hikaru.

"Do you want to know about Shindo-chan?" Shinoda-san asked lightly, he undoubtedly knew that his student, a mere insei, had made it to the semifinals of the Young Lions' Tournament. Unprecedented. He smiled as he was waiting for Amano to ask. Would the pros be upset with Shinoda-san when they realize that he had known, had expected, this?

"Yes." Amano blurted out, rushed. It would be a fascinating article for an insei student to have made it to the finals of the Young Lions' Tournament but that might have just been over speculating. In order to make it to the finals, Shindo would have to beat Ashiwara Hiroyuki, one of the ex-Meijin's students and a fine player in his own right.

"Shindo-chan is a third year student at Haze Middle, she has been an insei for only six months but I expect her to do well at the Pro Exams. She has been playing Go since she was eleven years old-" Shinoda-san informed.

Amano's pen froze, "What, she's only been playing for four years?"

"Yes," Shinoda-san nodded. "I was surprised myself when she told me because her level of play didn't quite equal a player who had only played for four years, but it seemed to me that she had sacrificed learning of etiquette for her level of ability."

"Meaning?"

"When she took her insei exam, she didn't know about match discussions after the match but during the match, she would often open her mouth after I played a stone, only to close it again. I believe that she wanted to comment on the game itself during the game but she stopped herself." Shinoda-san revealed, "Also he longer she spent in the insei class, her play became more refined and less ruthless."

"How so?"

"I feel Shindo-chan doesn't understand Shidougo. She doesn't understand the concept. I don't think anyone has ever played Shidougo with her and because of that, Shindo-chan doesn't understand mercy. At least on the goban. In the beginning, she made nearly all of her opponents cry and she also made one quit the program. I don't think she ever really cared about what she made her opponents do. She knows how to help someone; she deconstructs their game almost to the point where the opponent wants to quit go and works it back up to a higher level. In all my years, I have never seen someone quite like her."

Amano was speechless and he blinked in utter shock. He had never recalled anyone who played like that either. Shindo wasn't typical and the way she played was never seen before. "What about her play style?

"Shindo-chan used to favor Shuusaku's method of play and when I asked where she learned it from and she said that she learned it from a book." At this point, Shinoda-san gave a questioning look. "Other than the records here, I don't believe there is any source out there that provides the information that extensively for her to learn to that Shuusaku's game to such a high level of degree. Likewise, I don't think I have ever seen Shindo-chan around here before."

"She seems to be quite the mystery," Amano commented wryly. "Please, continue."

"As she continued being an insei, her play became so much more modern. Instead of using a Shuusaku opening, she began favoring the 4-4 point and others. She likes varying them but she's also very inventive. She likes doing the unconventional and the thing about Shindo-chan is that she's very astute when it comes to go and she picks things up quickly. For instance, while her yose is adequate for a person who has only been playing for four years, it isn't quite up to part as to everything else. So I gave her a few joseki, which placed her as the one with the less territory and only a certain amount of moves in yose. She struggled for a while but by the end of the month, she was solving them within the minute. It was astounding." Shinoda-san confessed.

Amano scribbled down a few notes, while paraphrasing quotes all the while. He could see the outline of the article forming, while it would not be as long as it would be for the winner of the tournament, it would still be a nice feature article on the young insei. "She sounds to be quite impressive, who is her formal teacher?" Amano asked, he could envision the entirety of the article but would need some personal quotes from Shinoda-san and Shindo herself.

"She doesn't have one." Shinoda-san answered and Amano froze for a second time. He raised his head from his notepad to meet his friend's eyes and they were truthful and ... sad. "Shindo-chan won't say who her teacher is. I have asked her several times but she won't say who he or she is. She looks pained whenever I ask."

"What about her family?" Amano questioned, his mouth dry.

Her parents are deceased, they died in a car accident when she was ten and she lives with her grandfather, Shindo Heiiachi. He's a amateur go player and I don't believe that he is the level that she is." Shinoda-san informed. "Shindo-chan would be best described as an anomaly, something never seen before. She lacks the background that we are so used to expecting to see."

Along with hat Honda-kun said, Amano would have to agree. "How far do you believe she will go?" He was sure what he was referring to, the tournament or the world.

"I believe that in time, Shindo-chan could become the best."

* * *

Ochi wasn't exactly sure what he was doing here. Here being at a Ramen restaurant, eating with his former insei classmates. Shindo had dragged him here after waiting it out at the men's bathroom when he finally finished reviewing the game. Yes, it was exactly as weird as it sounded. He wasn't sure why she was waiting there like an overexcited puppy. Nor did he really want to know.

He and Waya had collectively stared each other down while Shindo chattered on a subject that Ochi did not fully understand. She was a strange person, unable to see his relative awkwardness when interacting with other people.

The pounding that he had received at Shindo's hands was utterly humiliating. He could see and understand why Mashiba had left so early, the coward and weakling that he was but when he reviewed his game with her, he found a few weaknesses that he could exploit.

The game had ended in the early stages of yose and a resignation. He had not been able to make her admit there was nothing more that she could do. It worried him, if he hadn't resigned what would Shindo have done. Shindo seemed to hesitate more during yose than the actual match but she had more time to think than he had. She grew more confident as yose continued, so much so that Ochi could not envision himself winning at anytime.

During the game, it seemed that the further he read, she read one step further; it was infuriating. But he would approach her just as another roadblock to his life as one of the Go professional greats.

"Ne, Ochi, that was a really good match we played," Shindo chirped, smiling brightly, "When you played that kake at 11-3, I was freaking out."

"I hadn't noticed," Ochi had recalled that move, it was mid-Chuuban and he had yet to notice his loss. She smiled again and focused on her miso ramen from across the table.

"You got to Yose?" Waya asked in an undertone, looking slightly envious while Shindo was happily chatting about some inane topic with Nase. Waya leveled a stare at Ochi. "You're the first one to ever get to yose, did you know that?"

"..." Ochi glanced at Isumi who shrugged dismissively.

"Late stages of Chuuban," Isumi explained. "She surprised me with a trap that I didn't even know she was setting and I was surprised by her innovativeness."

"Who is she?" Ochi asked, slightly angered. "And why haven't we heard of her before?"

Waya answered, rolling his eyes. "If you think this was bad, think about what kind of effect she had on the insei program. A lot of shed tears the month she joined."

"So we don't know anything about her pre-Insei?" Ochi asked, furrowing his brow. "Her style is different from conventional styles. She plays quite riskily and she can place traps without them being to obvious."

"The epitome of Shindo," Waya groaned. "I can't wait to see what she does to Touya."

"You think she can beat Ashiwara?" Ashiwara was part of the study group who learned under the Ex-Meijin. He played with the likes of the best nearly every week.

"Can you imagine her being beaten?"

* * *

Akari wandered through the heavy crowds, lost. He was there to support his good childhood friend, Shindo Hikaru. He had the day off from cram school but even if he had cram school, he would have chosen Hikaru over cram school any day.

He had watched his friend morph from a very depressed girl into a chattering go obsessed teenager. Akari wasn't sure which one he liked better. He was truly happy for his friend, but as Hikaru drifted further and further away from him, having been drawn into the world of Go, Akari found himself struggling to catch up.

Akari had joined the Go Club at the Haze Middle and while he enjoyed and improved at the game, he was still light years away from Hikaru. He had dedicated hours to trying to cheer Hikaru up but to no avail. None of his rather corny jokes worked, nor did inviting her to play soccer and he began to feel helpless until one day at school where he saw Hikaru smile for the first time in what felt like forever. It was like a bolt of lightning had hit him.

Despite the fact it wasn't even aimed at him, Akari could feel hope blossoming in his heart. It was not like her old split her cheeks smile, but it was a start. And then he felt himself getting further and further away from her. She soon joined Haze Middle's Go club and while he joined the day after, she improved faster than he could ever hope. He watched, in amazement, as she downed Tsutsui-senpai, Mitani-kun and Kaga-senpai. He couldn't even hope to beat Tsutsui-senpai whose yose game tore him apart even when they were close in territory in chuuban.

Scanning his eyes through the crowd, he alighted upon a brunette girl's hair pulled into a messy ponytail with blonde streaks. Hikaru! He moved to call out her name but then a crowd of people, mostly handsome, probably good at Go, teenage boys, joined her. Fellow insei, Akari assumed. He drew back his hand and fell silent, feeling like a fool. He had hoped, that just once, she would look back at what she had forgotten.

Shindo couldn't stop gaping at how many bowls of ramen Waya ate, in all actuality, he only ate two, but Shindo still fumed in jealousy. She loved ramen. Also it helped that Waya had banned her from ordering another bowl.

Still complaining, Shindo moved through the crowd as it parted for her, recognizing that it was she who would be in the semi-finals against Hiroyuki Ashiwara. Her head whipped around, her ponytail almost whacking Waya in the face. "Akari?" She asked incredulously, recognizing a slim teenage boy in the crowd.

The boy gave a hesitant smile, waving. Shindo moved through the crowd and threw her arms around Akari, giving him a hug. Akari seemed almost surprised at the sudden affection but reciprocated anyways. "What are you doing here? Did Auntie actually let you out this late?"

Akari blushed and retorted. "I wanted to support you, forgive me for trying to be a good friend."

Shindo frowned. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you here Akari, but why? I don't think this is around your level of understanding and there won't be anyone holding your hand to explain it to you, Akari. Not like that time where Tsutsui-senpai came to the tournament with us and there was a commentator This is advanced stuff, heck; this is beyond Mitani's level of understanding." Shindo informed rather callously. She wasn't lying though; people had pretty high expectations for this match, Waya included.

"These aren't the quarter-finals?" Akari asked in shock, eyes widening in disbelief.

"No, silly." Shindo teased. "This is the semi-finals and I have to play someone named Ashiwara Hiroyuki, who is a 4-dan."

"Hikaru!" Akari shrieked, but not very loudly. "What are you doing? I am not going to get you disqualified!" He began tugging her towards the competition room. It seemed that he understood and knew about Shindo's lack of sense of time.

Shindo wasn't budging. "Geez, Akari, I'm five minutes early, relax." She jabbed a finger at Waya. "Mr. Bossypants here made me leave early."

Akari stared at Waya in amazement and in slight admiration. He walked over, flabbergasted towards Waya with Shindo, looking exasperated, following him. "I've known her for eleven years and I've never seen her be early to anything. How'd you do it?"

"Lied to her about the times," Waya shrugged. "Told her that it started fifteen minutes earlier than it actually did."

"Smart," Akari nodded. "Hikaru would never memorize the times, even if she had to." Over Shindo's affronted hey, he stuck out his hand. "Seeing how Hikaru is probably never going to introduce us, I'm Akari Fujisaki."

"Waya Yoshitaka." Waya shook his hand. "So you play go?" He asked curiously. The group that had come with them to the restaurants had left, probably to get good seats for the semi-finals.

"Yeah, I joined my school's Go club when Hikaru did. I'm not any where as good as she is, though." Fujisaki replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Is anyone?"

"True."

Shindo looked at them both and shook her head. "Akari, how long can you stay?" She smiled at her old friend who blushed. Waya was getting a strange feeling.

"Okaa-san said I can stay until you're finished but she says I have to walk you to your house though." His blushed grew but Shindo didn't seem to notice. Figures.

The buzzer rang and Shindo turned her head. "That's my cue, wish me luck!" She flashed a victory sign and fluttered off.

Waya noticed Fujisaki staring but decided not to comment.

* * *

Isumi took a seat next to Ochi, who was already waiting tentatively next to the goban where Ashiwara and Shindo would be playing. Before meeting Shindo, Isumi would have assumed that Ochi would have taken the seat next to Touya's goban. "What do you think her chances are?" He murmured.

While neither of them were capable of beating Ashiwara, maybe one out of ten, they were probably the closest to estimating his level of ability. "Waya seems to think that she's invincible." Ochi remarked snidely. The Waya and Ochi rivalry had basically been legendary during the insei class. They had never gotten along.

"You don't think so?" Isumi inquired politely.

"I'd like more time to analyze her," Ochi informed callously. "I bet I could find a weakness." He said determinedly.

"Do you think Ashiwara would be able to?" Isumi asked, looking at the stark contrast between the wooden goban and its surroundings.

"Someone is going to, eventually."

* * *

"Hey," Waya touched Fujisaki's arm. "You want to explain what's going on?"

Fujisaki shook his head. "I think I'll be alright." He glanced at Waya, furtively. "Waya-san, what do you think her chances are?"

"Not really sure, Ashiwara's good but if Shindo is able to catch him off guard, she should have a pretty good chance." Waya informed.

Fujisaki looked mournful. "I can't imagine that the girl from my childhood turned into all of this," he gestured.

"How so?"

"I imagined that I would be supporting her at a soccer game, not some Go tournament. Hikaru hated sitting still when we were kids, she couldn't stay in one place for more than ten minutes, now she sits for hours upon hours playing a game that I don't quite understand." Fujisaki described. "She's change so much."

The announcer called out, "The semi-final matches will begin now. Insei Shindo Hikaru versus 5-dan Ashiwara Hiroyuki and 4-dan Touya Akira versus 4-dan Kouji."

"We should take our seats," Waya remarked. "Man, I hope Saeki-san will be alright."

"Are you close to him?" Fujisaki asked.

"He's my senpai, we learn from the same teacher, Morishita 9-dan and I lost to him in the quarterfinals." Waya answered, talking a seat next to Ochi and Isumi, the brunt of the crowd for the tournament surrounded Touya and Saeki-san's goban. "Ashiwara-san learns from the Meijin, who's the best player in Japan, except..."

"Except for," Fujisaki blinked, waiting for him to finish.

"There's a player on the net named sai," Isumi replied, keeping an eye on the proceedings. They would both have an hour and a fifteen minutes and play per tournament regulations. "He beat the ex-Meijini nearly nine months ago."

"Nine months," Fujisaki echoed. "That's around the time..."

"What?" Waya asked.

"Hikaru, she quit go around that time. She didn't quit forever obviously but it had an effect. Everyone noticed." Fujisaki flushed again. "No one could really figure out what was wrong but Hikaru... was so sad."

"Nine months." Waya echoed as well. "For how long did she stop playing?"

"Three months, her grandfather and I could never figure out what was making Hikaru so sad. Or what made her change back to normal."

* * *

Saeki Kouji wasn't proud of the fact that he had to beat one of his kouhai to make it to the Young Lions's semi-finals. Waya had gotten very good in the past year, it had been surprising, needless to say. He had gotten much more inventive and stubborn. Not in that he refused to listen to advice but when Saeki had gotten Waya into uncompromising positions, or so he thought, where he thought Waya would surrender, Waya would persevere instead and find a solution. It was truly impressive.

His movements were sharper and Waya had gotten better at anticipating. Saeki had still beaten him by a margin but for this match, he would have to pull out all the stops because he was playing Touya Akira, the bane of every middle-aged Go player's existence and then some.

He placed another stone delicately, the cool slate reverberating on the wooden goban. He fortified his position in the center, ensuring some territory. He would need it later.

Touya Akira ignored it and continued his march to the left. It was almost unnerving at how still and composed the younger teen was.

Saeki Kouji was beginning to feel old. Both he and Ashiwara were playing fifteen year olds, both of who were playing better than they should have. Touya had not been a surprise but Shindo Hikaru was. Saeki knew of Mashiba, he being constantly barraged and insulted by Waya. Both Isumi and Ochi were two 2-dans who had passed the pro exam last year.

The majority of the upcoming pros were young, very young and Saeki wasn't sure if he and Ashiwara could keep up with them. But he guessed, someone would argue that they could just barely qualify as one of said young pros.

* * *

Waya would be lying if he said that he thought Ashiwara actually had a chance. He didn't. While he played very well and better than any of the insei, Isumi and Ochi, he only made it to yose. Waya had felt that the game had been missing something.

"Haven't all her matches been like that?" Isumi looked at him like he was delusional.

"Yeah, so?" Waya answered, keeping his eyes trained on his cup of tea.

Isumi looked at him disappointingly. "You can't find anything that was never really there."

"But it feels like there should be something there," Waya argued. "Call me crazy Isumi, but I really think there should be another component to Shindo's game."

"You think Shindo hasn't reached her peak," Isumi nodded. "Well, she hasn't played someone better or equal to her, right? There's your reason as to why."

* * *

There was a lot of buzz. Now most had been expecting an all-pro final, not a final between two fifteen year olds. Shindo was a stark contrast to her counterpart, utterly casual and all smiles. Not that Touya didn't smile; he just didn't smile as much and look as unserious as Shindo. The skirt and blouse had been swapped out for jeans and a t-shirt that Shindo kept in the bag that she carried constantly. She also had a pair of tennis shoes in her bag as well for when she would leave. The heels were sure to leave callouses.

Again, those who were expecting an all-pro final were also expecting Touya's easy victory when he played his fellow rank and age. However, there was a small minority that thought Shindo just might have a chance, that it wouldn't be all that easy for Touya; they, being individuals who had encountered Shindo one way or the other, the insei class especially.

They had suffered for six months playing her and by no accounts was that fun, at all. They would enjoy this day. Now the entire world would experience what they had experienced. Pure, utter terror at the hands of a brunette fifteen year-old.

* * *

Deep green eyes stared at teal eyes across a goban. The match was minutes from beginning and both players were already in their seats. They seemed to ignore the gossip and chatter surrounding them. Both matches had ended early and in the interest of time, the final began twenty minutes after the semi-final matches had finished.

"The final match of the Young Lions' Tournament will now begin. Insei Shindo Hikaru versus Touya Akira 4-dan. The winner will receive a purse of 100,000 yen. It is recommended that spectators are at least two feet away from the goban. Both players have an hour and fifteen minutes. Begin."

Pachi. The match began with a flourish as Shindo placed the first black stone of the match.

* * *

Akira, in lesser terms, was bored. Very bored. Not of go, never of go but have playing those who seemed so beneath him. He yearned for the day where he would be allowed to play with those his skill level, as in the title match leagues. Tournaments like the Young Lions' Tournament did not interest him or pushed in the way that he liked and the international tournaments he had yet been invited to. His last match against a fellow teenager had barely been memorable. Until this match.

To his initial surprise, he was not playing Ashiwara-san but a Shindo Hikaru. He faintly remembered her as the one who had accidently bumped into him when Amano-san had been interviewing him.

To say her go was unorthodox would be an understatement; her style seemed to reject any commonalities of any player of this modern age. It was a mix and match of modern and ancient, or more specifically Shuusaku's. Her style had flare and it intrigued him. He was intrigued by the fact that she had stayed hidden from him for so long.

Pachi. They were in yose now and he wasn't sure who was winning. He found himself not really caring. Shindo's play had faltered shortly in the beginning stages but had quickly recovered.

Pachi. She tried to claim more territory and looked up with a glint in her eye.

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi

Pachi Pachi Pachi

It was done and the territory needed to be counted. As they slid the slate stones across the goban, their fingers brushed and something... happened. A spark. A tingle. He wasn't sure what but it felt good. Different.

Whispers had echoed throughout the room, Akira couldn't be sure who was the winner. Thinking about it, he never wanted the match to end. She played off his moves as he played off hers. It was exemplary and unlike any match he had ever imagined.

"It's half a moku win for me," Shindo said softly, staring at the goban. Was she feeling the same as he? The feel of amazement. Of awe, She met his gaze once more and Akira got the same good feeling.

* * *

Afterwards it was a blur, a large talkative blur that led to some shouts of amazement by the crowd. Everyone knew who Touya Akira was and how he was the favorite to win. The dark horse victory by an insei would be the talk of the week for months.

Both Touya-kun and Shindo were silent, seated awkwardly next to each other in slightly uncomfortable chairs, unwilling to look at each other. Amano felt equally awkward but he was here to get an interview. "So what did you think of the match?"

Shindo answered first, almost instinctively. "Nothing that I was expecting."

"Touya-kun?" Amano wrote the answer down.

"I agree with Shindo-san, this game was certainly something I have never experienced," Touya-kun nodded.

"I see, any plans for the future, Shindo-san?" Amano asked.

"I plan to take the Pro exam this year," Shindo informed. "After that, I might quit school and focus on Go full time."

"What are your hopes and aspirations?" Amano enquired.

Shindo blinked. "I intend to find the Hand of God."

* * *

Akari was still in shock at the match. He didn't have to be good at go to know that was one heck of a match. Hikaru had won and had actually been interviewed for an official magazine. He trailed after her, helpless as she strode to the train station, deep in contemplative thought.

"Hikaru? Is everything alright?" Akari asked, worried. She was far too quiet for his liking.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Hikaru bit her lip. "Just thinking about the game."

"Still?" He teased. It had been fifteen minutes since they had left the Institute.

"Of course," Hikaru replied, completely serious. This match had strongly affected her, Akari could tell. "That was a match in a life, I don't know when I'll play another one like it."

"Oh," Akari answered quietly. "It looked like you hadn't played well." Whenever he saw Hikaru play, she usually won and crushed her opponent, easily.

Hikaru shook her head. "I played well, Akari, I've pretty much played well this entire day." She paused. "But it seems like everything I've been told about Touya Akira is true." Her eyes gleamed beneath the darkness of the Tokyo lit night.

* * *

**Comments**:

Finished! Young Lions' Tournament Arc is officially over. Maybe.

Ochi's a bit jealous of Hikaru. He's worked hard, trying to make Touya notice him and out comes this girl who, in his mind, crushes the pants off him.

Poor Akari. So much in love with Hikaru while Hikaru herself is obsessed with Go. I changed the gender because it helps us reveal more about Genderbent!Hikaru's home life rather than her Go life. Yes, I realize Akari is a girl name.

Small change. I did some research (meaning I looked on google) and I found a Hikaru no Go timeline. Very helpful but there was a slight problem. In canon, the Young Lions' tournament occurs in late May... Yeah. I know. So I decided that I would have it occur in February instead. :D Meaning that it has been nine months since Sai disappeared. This also means that Sai disappeared a year early but I just made it so Sai appeared in front of Hikaru a year earlier but that does not mean Hikaru started playing go that much earlier.

In Burning Brightly, I think Hikaru lost because Aishuu wanted to showcase that while Hikaru is impossibly strong, he has some weaknesses. In Crest of the Wave, I chose to have Hikaru win because Touya needs to be shown that he can lose to people his own age and for Hikaru, even if she doesn't get it, that just because you win does not mean that you will win a hundred percent of the time. Well, the match was an eye opener for both of them.

Genderbent!Hikaru views Touya as a stepping stone but she has yet to realize what Touya will mean to her in the future while Touya himself is one step ahead of her, if only in realizing that Shindo is a worthy competitor.

In real life, college admissions are coming out. :D I'm pretty satisfied with my results so I've got no problems. However, you guys are so lucky I use fanfiction as my escape when I'm bored because then this would have never gotten done. Be happy and shower me with reviews.


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